This Is the Reason Why Simeone Substituted Julián Álvarez Against Barcelona

Simeone explained in a press conference that Julián Álvarez had been sick throughout the weekend

Another night, despite the loss of Atlético de Madrid against Barcelona at the Metropolitano, Julián Álvarez once again grabbed most of the headlines after a week in which his name had flooded news outlets around the world for his disallowed penalty in Champions League against Real Madrid. However, Simeone decided to substitute him due to force majeure just as the second half began… and had to offer an explanation afterward.

Simeone explained the substitution of Julián Álvarez

When the match reached the 60th minute and Alexander Sorloth was ready to come on, the Metropolitano fell silent when the fourth official signaled that the player being substituted was Julián Álvarez. No one in the stadium could justify Simeone's decision after he was the player who scored the first goal of the match and, above all, the one causing the most danger to the Barcelona goal.

¡El penalti de Julián Álvarez fue anulado en una decisión polémica!

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Everything seemed to be in order, and he didn't appear to show any signs of exhaustion or muscular discomfort. However, there was an explanation… as Simeone justified after the match in the press conference: “Julián came from a bout of illness two days ago, with a fever yesterday. Today, he also had an upset stomach in the morning, and I wasn’t going to put him in.”

Julián Álvarez's effort to play against Barcelona

No one knows what the outcome of the match would have been had Julián Álvarez stayed on the field at the Metropolitano. Perhaps the result would have been very different. But, if his participation ended after 60 minutes, it was because he simply couldn’t go on. In fact, MARCA reports that his presence in the match was seriously at risk hours before the game, and it was Julián himself who did everything possible to be available.

In the end, the final result was not what Atlético de Madrid had hoped for, as they suffered another defeat in LaLiga and have practically said goodbye to their chances of winning LaLiga again after four years. However, no one can doubt that this team will continue fighting until the last day… just as Julián Álvarez did to play against FC Barcelona.